By Mat Barrett

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‘Now I want to beat them’: Holoien coaches first game against hometown team

Feb 7, 2019 | 2:52 PM

A Melfort native has returned to his hometown hockey rink, but this time wearing silver and black as opposed to blue and green.

Rob Holoien and the Battlefords North Stars were at the Northern Lights Palace in Melfort on Wednesday, Feb. 7 for a Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League contest against the Mustangs. Holoien is now the assistant coach of the North Stars, and has been since early December. He started the year with the Carrot River Outback Thunder, a team he had been with since the 2016/2017 season.

Wednesday was his first time coaching against his hometown team, but unfortunately for his squad, the Mustangs spoiled the homecoming with a 5-3 win.

“It was good. It’s not the result we want,” Holoien told northeastNOW. “But, you know, family first right? I’m a family first guy, and it’s just nice to come home and see some familiar faces.”

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When asked about the nerves that came with taking on the Mustangs, he said it didn’t take long for his nerves to subside.

“Drop of the puck,” Holoien said. “I was able to see a few familiar faces before the game and just relax. You prepare the boys just like any other night”

“As soon as the puck drops, you’re ready to go.” _{Rob Holoien}

In his few months behind the North Stars bench, Holoien said it’s been a pretty easy transition, thanks in large part to the Head Coach Brayden Klimosko.

“Actually I reached out to Brayden because we played against each other all the way up,” Holoien said. “And, he actually gives me the gears because he scored that deciding goal to knock me out of my junior career in the North Final back in the day. So we joke about that.

“He was very accepting, and I just reached out to him through text when I saw that they had the assistant coach step down. It went good, it was an easy transition.”

Holoien added the players were also very accepting even though it was a new coach coming in part way through the season.

The junior career for Holoien spanned four different leagues, and seven teams. In the SJHL, he spent time with the Mustangs in 2004/2005 where he played under now Mustang Head Coach Trevor Blevins who was the assistant at the time. Holoien said it was fun to be able to coach against his former coach.

“I looked up to Blevs,” Holoien said. “He wins, and this organization in the past couple of years here has hung banners, and they just keep finding a way to win. They don’t really have any rebuilds or anything. And it’s been fun to watch, just even as a spectator before this, I’m always in the rink.”

“I enjoy watching them, now I want to beat them.” _{Rob Holoien}

He also spent time with the North Stars, and Nipawin Hawks (his final stop in his career) during his time in the SJHL.

Holoien and the North Stars will get a chance for revenge on Saturday, Feb. 16 when they come back to Melfort one last time in the 2018/2019 season.

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mat.barrett@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @matbarrett6